Claire Cronin

Armed with an acoustic guitar and some beautifully poignant stories, Claire Cronin is a great example of how art is all-encompassing.

Cronin’s debut album, New Emotional, is a self-released, small and sparse ten-track collection of poignant tales. These are bedroom songs and are best served uninterrupted by outside noise.

I don’t think there are any songs here that notably outshine the rest; as each possess their own hidden charms. However, I found myself particularly drawn to “Ballad For Old Decorations” and “From The Wreaths On The Cars,” two songs that I feel best showcase Cronin’s strengths as a songwriter, which are quite remarkable, albeit subdued.

The album’s deeply personal delivery is bolstered by the visual art that Cronin also contributes. Her peculiar drawings adorn the album as inserts, each one depicting frozen chapters in an unknown story.

Here’s a ballad for old decorations
For the reindeer still left on the lawn
For the boxes of light you undid late at night
As the TV played holiday songs
How the flowers of April came early
So we dug out their heads from the snow
But no heat from our breath was enough to protect
What the season insisted should go.
~ Claire Cronin

Much of Cronin’s personal life is an enigma. She has revealed very little other than her birthplace (Santa Monica, CA) and her approximate age (she was born in the 80’s). But her love of art is as apparent as it is thought provoking.

More Stories

Before the MP3 revolution began, there was a time when I would walk into my favorite record store and simply buy an album without ever hearing of the artist. Sometimes the impulse was prompted by a review I had read or a simple recommendation. Other times, something as simple as an appealing album cover would peak my interest. In the case of Joan Jones’s Starlite Criminal, it was pure chance.

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